Rear holding device for ski boots

ABSTRACT

A pivotable rear holding device for a ski boot on a ski which includes a pivotable jaw for vertically holding down the heel of the boot, and a horizontally pivotable member for supporting the heel of the boot, said member including means for elastically bringing the member back to its median position of rest after a lateral motion.

Unite States Patent 1191 1111 3,735,995 Saiomon 1 1 a 29, 1973 [5 REAR HOLDING DEVICE FOR SK] 1 References Cited BOOTS UNITED STATES PATENTS [76] Inventor: gsfgjg gi jfi gx giikg 3,326,567 6/1967 Pronzati ..280/11.35 T

[22] Filed: June 21, 1970 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 2 App] N03 155 107 1,271,671 8/1961 France ..280/11.35 T

Related US. Application Data Primary ExaminerLeo F riaglia [62] Division of Ser. No. 789,680, Jan. 8, 1969. Song Att0rneyRoger Goudreau [30] Foreign Application Priority Data ABSTRACT J .10, 1968 F ..68135562 D e c 20 1968 ..68109474 A Plvotable rear holdmg devlce for a a which includes a pivotable jaw for vertically holding 52 us. C1 ..280/11.35 T, 280/1135 c the heel 0f the and hmimmally Pivota- 51] 1111.0 .Q ..A63c 9/00 ble member suppcrting the heel of the said 58 Field of Search ..280/l1.35 T, 11.35 c member including means for elastically bringing the member back to its median position of rest after a lateral motion.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures Patented May 29, 1973 3,735,995

m/mvm? am es 215mm AlTQ Y l REAR HOLDING DEVICE FOR SKI BGGTS This is a division of US. application Ser. No. 789,680 filed on Jan. 8, 1969 by the same applicant.

The present invention relates to a rear holding device for ski boots and in particular a device to prevent the hindrance of the jaw holding down the heel of the boot when a lateral shift is applied to the boot.

Rear holding devices for ski boots are known to hold the heel of the boot on the ski during forward and lateral falls.

Usually, in the above-mentioned devices, the heel of the boot is fixed between the ski or a plate fixed to the ski and a holding jaw.

This arrangement includes serious disadvantages. During lateral displacements of the jaw, for example, in the case of the security releasing of the lateral holding device, the releasing movement of the heel of the boot is hindered by the pressure exerted on the heel by the holding jaw or the like, and this constitutes a considerable obstacle for the good operation of the timely release of the lateral holding device.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages by a simple and efficacious device.

According to the invention, the heel of the boot is immobilized on the ski between, on the one hand, a holding jaw for vertically holding down said heel, said jaw being mounted in a block horizontally pivotable around a vertical axis rigid with a base plate and, on the other hand, a resting member supporting the heel of the boot, said member, mounted on said base plate, being horizontally pivotable and including means for electrically bringing said member back to its median position of rest after a lateral motion.

Furthermore, means are provided between said resting member and the ski, for allowing smooth motion of the member, by reducing the frictional forces.

According to this arrangement, the resting member substantially follows the lateral displacement of the jaw and the heel of the boot does not create frictional resistance during the displacement of the holding jaw, and consequently, the lateral security releasing of the device is not hindered.

The invention will be better understood by referring to the following detailed description and the annexed drawings which are provided as non-limitative examples of preferred embodiments.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section of one embodiment according to the invention;

FIG. 2.is a perspective view of a part of the device shown in FIG. 11, and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a further embodiment according to the invention.

In FIG. 11, the boot it is fixed in position on the ski 2 between, on the one hand, a holding jaw 3, pivoting about an axis 6 and locked by a ball bearing '7 releasably held by a spring 8 and, on the other hand, a resting member constituted by a small plate 9, solidly riveted on the pivoting sleeve 10 on which is mounted the holding jaw. This pivoting sleeve 10 freely rotates in a cylindrical aperture provided in the block llll, which may pivot around the axis 12, solidly secured to the base plate 13, the said block being locked in a median position by a second ball bearing 16 pushed by a spring 117 in an appropriate housing 18 of the base plate; a

threaded socket 119 is used for adjusting the tension of the spring 17.

The resting plate 9 is mounted on said base plate 13 around the axis 112 in order to freely rotate about said axis.

The small plate 9 does not move with the rising of the jaw 3 when the boot is removed from the device, but moves substantially in a lateral direction, on the ski, by rotation around the axle E2. The displacement of the small plate 9 is provided over a wedge 19, made of a material having a low coefficient of friction and over the base plate 13. The small plate 9 has the tendency to return to a median position due to the spring 2419 located simultaneously across the base plate 13 and in the small plate 9.

In FIG. 2, the spring 20 enables the small plate 9 to return to its median position, by rotation around the axle 12 solidly secured to the base plate 13, the wedge 19 made of a material having a low coefficient of friction providing very little resistance to the return spring 20.

In FIG. 3, the block 25 comprises only one pivoting axis 26. In this case, the holding jaw 27 rotates around the axle 28. The resting member following substantially the lateral movements of the block 25 and the jaw 27, is constituted by a U-shaped stirrup 29, made for example of spring wire, the extremities of the arms 30 of the stirrup being solidly secured to the base plate 31 on which the block is pivotally mounted. Two rollers 32 and 33 are mounted on said arms to freely rotate around the latter. Under the effect of a lateral stress, the stirrup follows the movement of the heel and takes up a position illustrated by the dotted line 34, the rollers allowing said movement by rotating on the ski 2. When the stress is removed, the stirrup elastically returns to its median position of rest.

The rear holding device for ski boots such as described above may be adapted on any type of skis and be used with any type of front abutment or stirrups without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim: 7

l. A pivotable rear holding device for a ski boot on a ski comprising: a base plate rigid with the ski and having a fixed vertical axis; a block rotatably mounted on said axis and having means or resiliently maintaining said block in a predetermined position; a pivotable jaw mounted on said block and pivotable around a substantially horizontal axis for vertically holding the heel of the boot on the ski; and a horizontally pivotable supporting member (mounted on said base plate and supporting the heel of the boot) having an end resuained on said base, the other end being free to move relative to said base and said ski and being adapted to receive the heel of the boot, said member including a resilient means between said base plate and said member for elastically bringing said member back to a median position of rest after a lateral motion.

2. A pivotable rear holding device as claimed in claim ll, wherein a low friction means is provided between said member and said ski for allowing smooth motion of the member.

3. A pivotable rear holding device as claimed in claim L'Wherein said member is a supporting plate pivotally mounted on the base plate about said fixed vertical axis, said supporting plate and said base plate having substantially horizontal cavities, a spring being disposed in said cavities so as to bias the supporting plate in its median position over the ski.

4. A pivotable rear holding device as claimed in claim 3, wherein a wedge having a low coefficient of friction is provided between said supporting plate and said ski. 5 of said stirrup.

5. A pivotable rear holding device as claimed in claim 

1. A pivotable rear holding device for a ski boot on a ski comprising: a base plate rigid with the ski and having a fixed vertical axis; a block rotatably mounted on said axis and having means for resiliently maintaining said block (rotatable means) in a predetermined position; a pivotable jaw mounted on said block and pivotable around a substantially horizontal axis for vertically holding the heel of the boot on the ski; and a horizontally pivotable supporting member (mounted on said base plate and supporting the heel of the boot) having an end restrained on said base, the other end being free to move relative to said base and said ski and being adapted to receive the heel of the boot, said member including a resilient means between said base plate and said member for elastically bringing said member back to a median position of rest after a lateral motion.
 2. A pivotable rear holding device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a low friction means is provided between said member and said ski for allowing smooth motion of the member.
 3. A pivotable rear holding device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said member is a supporting plate pivotally mounted on the base plate about said fixed vertical axis, said supporting plate and said base plate having substantially horizontal cavities, a spring being disposed in said cavities so as to bias the supporting plate in its median position over the ski.
 4. A pivotable rear holding device as claimed in claim 3, wherein a wedge having a low coefficient of friction is provided between said supporting plate and said ski.
 5. A pivotable rear holding device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said member is a U-shaped stirrup having flexible arms, the free ends of which are fixed on the base plate, said arms being provided with rollers adapted to contact the ski to permit pivoting motions of said stirrup. 